Former BoardSource President & CEO
\nAnne Wallestad served as president and CEO of BoardSource.
\nAnne was appointed to her position in 2013, after having served on BoardSource’s leadership team for nearly five years. She has overseen a period of remarkable growth and change, helping BoardSource expand its leadership voice and build a scalable model of program delivery that has resulted in a more than 200 percent growth in the number of leaders served. She has played an instrumental role in the launch of several new leadership initiatives including the Stand for Your Mission campaign, which challenges board leaders to play a stronger role in advocacy and public policy.
\nWith 20 years of executive leadership experience in the nonprofit sector, Anne has worked closely with boards of directors and volunteers in a number of national and local organizations, and has cultivated deep expertise in fundraising strategy and leveraging the board’s fundraising role. She has served on a number of advisory committees and panels, including the Commission on Accountability and Policy for Religious Organizations Panel on the Nonprofit Sector and Independent Sector’s 2014 Ethics & Accountability Advisory Committee. Under her leadership, BoardSource has been recognized as a finalist for the prestigious Drucker Prize for innovation, and named a Best Nonprofit to Work For in 2016 and 2017. Anne herself has been honored as one of The Nonprofit Times’ “Power & Influence Top 50.”
\nAnne graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Drake University, with degrees in both sociology and English. She is also a graduate of Stanford University Graduate School of Business’ Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders.
(2)" ---  [](https://boardsource.org) [Back to blog homepage](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog) ## Anne Wallestad, Former President & CEO, BoardSource  **Former BoardSource President & CEO** Anne Wallestad served as president and CEO of BoardSource. Anne was appointed to her position in 2013, after having served on BoardSource’s leadership team for nearly five years. She has overseen a period of remarkable growth and change, helping BoardSource expand its leadership voice and build a scalable model of program delivery that has resulted in a more than 200 percent growth in the number of leaders served. She has played an instrumental role in the launch of several new leadership initiatives including the Stand for Your Mission campaign, which challenges board leaders to play a stronger role in advocacy and public policy. With 20 years of executive leadership experience in the nonprofit sector, Anne has worked closely with boards of directors and volunteers in a number of national and local organizations, and has cultivated deep expertise in fundraising strategy and leveraging the board’s fundraising role. She has served on a number of advisory committees and panels, including the Commission on Accountability and Policy for Religious Organizations Panel on the Nonprofit Sector and Independent Sector’s 2014 Ethics & Accountability Advisory Committee. Under her leadership, BoardSource has been recognized as a finalist for the prestigious Drucker Prize for innovation, and named a Best Nonprofit to Work For in 2016 and 2017. Anne herself has been honored as one of The Nonprofit Times’ “Power & Influence Top 50.” Anne graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Drake University, with degrees in both sociology and English. She is also a graduate of Stanford University Graduate School of Business’ Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders. [](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/lets-stop-just-talking-about-nonprofit-board-diversity) ## [Let’s Stop (Just) Talking about Nonprofit Board Diversity.](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/lets-stop-just-talking-about-nonprofit-board-diversity) Posted by [Anne Wallestad, Former President & CEO, BoardSource](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/author/anne-wallestad-president-ceo-boardsource) on Sep 6, 2017, 4:29:58 PM Earlier today, BoardSource released [*Leading with Intent*](http://www.leadingwithintent.org), our biennial study of nonprofit board composition, culture, and performance. The study reveals much about what’s happening within nonprofit boards today. And while there are some encouraging trends worth highlighting — most notably a... [more](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/lets-stop-just-talking-about-nonprofit-board-diversity) Topics: [Board Diversity & Inclusivity](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/topic/board-diversity-inclusivity), [Leading with Intent](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/topic/leading-with-intent), [Assessment](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/topic/assessment) [](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/in-defense-of-board-diversity) ## [In Defense of Board Diversity](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/in-defense-of-board-diversity) Posted by [Anne Wallestad, Former President & CEO, BoardSource](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/author/anne-wallestad-president-ceo-boardsource) on Jul 18, 2017, 12:09:00 PM *A letter to the editor written by Anne Wallestad appeared in today’s issue of* The Chronicle of Philanthropy. *We share a segment of the letter here and encourage you to read* [*In Defense of Board Diversity*](https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Letter-to-the-Editor-In/240671) *in its entirety by visiting the Chronicle’s website.* [more](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/in-defense-of-board-diversity) Topics: [Board Diversity & Inclusivity](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/topic/board-diversity-inclusivity) [](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/governing-a-collaborative-organization) ## [Governing a Collaborative Organization](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/governing-a-collaborative-organization) Posted by [Anne Wallestad, Former President & CEO, BoardSource](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/author/anne-wallestad-president-ceo-boardsource) on May 31, 2017, 12:00:00 PM [more](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/governing-a-collaborative-organization) Topics: [collaboration](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/topic/collaboration) [](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/in-times-of-change-board-members-must-be-advocates) ## [In Times of Change, Board Members Must Be Advocates](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/in-times-of-change-board-members-must-be-advocates) Posted by [Anne Wallestad, Former President & CEO, BoardSource](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/author/anne-wallestad-president-ceo-boardsource) on Apr 4, 2017, 11:21:03 AM *This article first appeared Jan. 19, 2017 on the Chronicle of Philanthropy website, [http://philanthropy.com](http://philanthropy.com). It is reprinted here with their permission.* As the country prepares to inaugurate Donald Trump as our 45th president on Friday and leadership at all levels of government takes shape... [more](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/in-times-of-change-board-members-must-be-advocates) Topics: [Advocacy](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/topic/advocacy) [](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/good-question-game-changer) ## [A Good Question Can be a Game Changer](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/good-question-game-changer) Posted by [Anne Wallestad, Former President & CEO, BoardSource](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/author/anne-wallestad-president-ceo-boardsource) on Feb 9, 2017, 2:48:12 PM One of my favorite questions to ask boards is “If your organization were founded today, what would it look like?” I love it because it leads to the board asking some other very important questions — questions that get to the heart of the organization’s existence: - What’s our organization’s core... [more](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/good-question-game-changer) Topics: [joint programming](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/topic/joint-programming), [collaboration](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/topic/collaboration), [strategic partnerships](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/topic/strategic-partnerships), [merger](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/topic/merger) [](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/why-repealing-the-johnson-amendment-is-a-bad-idea) ## [Why Repealing the Johnson Amendment is a Bad Idea](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/why-repealing-the-johnson-amendment-is-a-bad-idea) Posted by [Anne Wallestad, Former President & CEO, BoardSource](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/author/anne-wallestad-president-ceo-boardsource) on Feb 7, 2017, 9:05:00 AM President Trump has vowed to repeal the Johnson Amendment, a move that — if successful — would strike down the rules that prevent nonprofit organizations from electioneering. In 2013, I had the opportunity to serve as a member of the [Panel of Nonprofit Sector Representatives for the Commission on...](http://religiouspolicycommission.org/content/panel-of-nonprofit-sector-representatives) [more](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/why-repealing-the-johnson-amendment-is-a-bad-idea) Topics: [Current Events](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/topic/current-events) [](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/a-new-framework-for-boardsources-leadership) ## [A New Framework for BoardSource’s Leadership](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/a-new-framework-for-boardsources-leadership) Posted by [Anne Wallestad, Former President & CEO, BoardSource](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/author/anne-wallestad-president-ceo-boardsource) on Jan 29, 2016, 8:00:00 AM This past December marked my seven-year anniversary as a member of BoardSource’s leadership team. I came on board in December of 2008, just after we had adopted a new strategic plan — one that focused us on thinking big about the future of board leadership and governance. It adopted some very lofty... [more](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/a-new-framework-for-boardsources-leadership) Topics: [BoardSource](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/topic/boardsource), [Strategic Initiative](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/topic/strategic-initiative), [Transparency](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/topic/transparency) [](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/2015/12/18/collecting-social-security-numbers-from-donors/) ## [Collecting Social Security Numbers from Donors](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/2015/12/18/collecting-social-security-numbers-from-donors/) Posted by [Anne Wallestad, Former President & CEO, BoardSource](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/author/anne-wallestad-president-ceo-boardsource) on Dec 18, 2015, 5:00:31 AM **By Anne Wallestad, president & CEO** [more](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/2015/12/18/collecting-social-security-numbers-from-donors/) Topics: [Perspectives on Board Service](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/topic/perspectives-on-board-service), [The Board’s Role in Advocacy](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/topic/the-boards-role-in-advocacy) [](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/2015/11/02/why-its-critical-to-pilot-new-nonprofit-board-technology/) ## [Why It's Critical to Pilot New Nonprofit Board Technology](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/2015/11/02/why-its-critical-to-pilot-new-nonprofit-board-technology/) Posted by [Anne Wallestad, Former President & CEO, BoardSource](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/author/anne-wallestad-president-ceo-boardsource) on Nov 2, 2015, 5:12:02 AM **By Adam Roth, CEO, StreamLink Software** [more](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/2015/11/02/why-its-critical-to-pilot-new-nonprofit-board-technology/) Topics: [BoardSource Leadership Forum](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/topic/boardsource-leadership-forum) [](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/2015/10/12/are-nonprofit-boards-really-necessary/) ## [Are Nonprofit Boards Really Necessary?](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/2015/10/12/are-nonprofit-boards-really-necessary/) Posted by [Anne Wallestad, Former President & CEO, BoardSource](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/author/anne-wallestad-president-ceo-boardsource) on Oct 12, 2015, 12:05:09 PM **By Anne Wallestad, president & CEO, BoardSource** [more](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/2015/10/12/are-nonprofit-boards-really-necessary/) Topics: [Perspectives on Board Service](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/topic/perspectives-on-board-service) [Previous](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/author/anne-wallestad-president-ceo-boardsource/page/1) [All posts](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/all) [Next](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/author/anne-wallestad-president-ceo-boardsource/page/3) ### Recent Posts Search this site on Google Search BoardSource 1050 Connecticut Ave NW, PO Box 65001 Washington, DC 20036 US [](https://www.facebook.com/BoardSource/) [](https://www.linkedin.com/company/boardsource) [](https://www.youtube.com/user/BoardSourceVideo) [Privacy Policy](https://boardsource.org/privacy-policy/) | [Acceptable Use](https://boardsource.org/terms-of-use/) © Copyright BoardSource